Coventry City: EFL calls on Sky Blues for 2019-20 to clarify the home

Coventry City moved to the Ricoh Arena in 2005 after leaving its former home ground, Highfield Road

Coventry City could be excluded from the English Football League unless they can clarify where they will be playing home games in the coming season.

The lease of Sky Blues in the Ricoh Arena expires in the summer.

Wasps bought the stadium in 2014, but the owners of City, Sisu, are still in litigation with the Rugby Union Club Premiership.

The EFL Panel has asked Coventry to provide more details about their intentions for next season by 5 March.

League One Side City believes that the "only option" is to keep playing in the Ricoh Arena.

"The football club wants to make a deal with the Wasps Rugby Club as soon as possible to resolve this dead end," said a statement from Coventry.

The EFL board has informed Coventry that an extraordinary general meeting of all 72 clubs must be convened if no satisfactory solution can be found in the next two months to consider the city's expulsion from the league and future membership.

If necessary, the Annual General Meeting on April 25 should be held to resolve the issue ahead of the outstanding promotion and relegation issues at the end of this season.

"These data show just how blatant the situation in which the football club is today and that time is running out," added the Sky Blues statement.

The EFL agrees that Coventry's intention to compete in the Ricoh Arena after this season is a "reasonable and appropriate solution".

"This has long been a serious problem for all parties," said EFL chief Shaun Harvey.

"The approach is cautious, but the league must ensure that the integrity of our competitions is maintained and that all clubs meet the obligations of membership of the EFF."

Why the continuing uncertainty?

Coventry City and Wasps are in dispute over a new lease agreement after Coventry's Sisu Sisu saw its claim for a judicial review of the sale of Ricoh Arena in October 2014.

London-based hedge fund Sisu claimed that Coventry City Council undervalued the stadium by £ 27m and announced in November its intention to appeal the refusal.

Wasps have previously stated that they will not discuss a new lease as long as the lawsuit continues.

Sisu has not only disagreed with Wasps over the rental level in recent years, but also with the previous owners of Ricoh Arena, Arena Coventry Ltd.

In this series, the football club was forced to play its home games of the 2013/34 season at a distance of 55 kilometers, while sharing in the Sixfields Stadium of Northampton Town on the ground.